The genre of my short film idea is horror. It isn’t the typical
type of horror, because it’s more aligned to today’s society.
The concept, essentially, is two young boys who think they run
the school, bully the wrong child and it takes a sudden turn. However, all the
action happens online, as the young boy plays mind games with the two bullies.
He asks them a series of ‘Would you rather?’ questions, which they must commit
to. He bribes them through keeping one of the girlfriends hostage, and the
other in a separate video chat. The film takes a sudden twist when the two
young boys track his location and travel there, only to be arrested for all
they have done.
My unique selling point is the fact everything is run through social
media. Although this has been the case in past movies, it’s not as common as it
should be given the era we live in.
My target audience is teenagers, which will be easier to
advertise, given most teenagers are on social media (which is also the USP, so
everything goes hand-in-hand).
Character briefs
Ryan Smith is a 16 year old thug, attending high school at his local public school. He is the stereotypical thug-like character, with long, unorganised hair. He wears his school uniform quite raggedly, with his tie being as small as possible, his top button undone and his shirt untucked. He craves attention although he is quite awkward. His actions signify a need for attention, and he always looks to bring out the most in his best friend, Lenny. He is clearly a troubled child, although he acts cocky and as if nothing is the matter with his home life.
Lenny is clearly the most submissive out of the twi, and he finds it hard to turn down what Ryan asks of him. He is the most sensible of the two, and it shows when he tries to talk Ryan out of things. He appears a lot less scruffy than Ryan does, with his hair organised and his uniform clean and pristine. He isn't very successful at talking his best friend out of things and he often finds himself falling in the traps that he is set.
Ryan has a girlfriend, Stacey, who isn't a leading character, although she does play a big part in the film. She is clearly a lot better than Ryan, and she has him under the thumb. She can do a lot better than him and Ryan knows it. She has long, wavy blonde hair and all the boys around school admire her, the girls too. She isn't overly-keen on makeup but she does well with what she has.
We aren't introduced to the main protagonist until the very end, and he isn't given a name. Ryan and Lenny call him 'Lighter boy' because of an incident which happens early on in the film. He is interrogated by the two boys using a lighter and this sets he tone. He is small, and takes on the nerd appearance. He has a squeaky voice and wears glasses, but he always has a devilish look on his face, particularly towards the end.
Background notes
My inspiration for the film came from watching a similar film in 'Unfriended'. I took the genre and added my own twists to it. My short film idea is a lot more film-like, as a lot of the action takes place away from the computer screen.
I also took inspiration from some facts and figures I read online. Supposedly, the average person has 5-6 social media, spending over 2 hours per day on the accounts. This is a lot to grasp, but it isn't ridiculous when you consider how much our lives are dictated by the platforms which mean nothing.
I feel like there isn't enough films which show the importance of social media, and I wanted my idea to be based around it, with my own added twists.
The way I choose to distribute my short film is through YouTube and, ironically, social media. The platforms mentioned are typical for short film productions, as they are too short to make into a movie but perfect for quick consumption. These are also free methods of distribution, and the advertisements come free also.
The Aesthetica Short Film Festival, known as ASFF, is a short film competition in the UK. Not only is it a competition, but it's also an excellent opportunity for budding filmmakers to meet with people who may help them excel in the industry. Submissions are sent to their website and there is a bunch of rules as follows:
Music/sound copyright must be dealt with first by the filmmaker
All ages are free to submit content
Entrants from all over the world are accepted
If a film is produced in a foreign language, English subtitles must be included
Films can be up to 35 minutes in length, but films under 30 minutes have more chance of being selected
There is no limit to the number of films submitted by one person
Components of a script
Character development
RYAN is wearing his creased school uniform, with his tie made as short as possible and his top button undone. He is wearing no blazer, and his school shirt is rolled up to his elbows. LENNY looks the smartest out of the two, although he doesn't notice his brightness himself.
We see RYAN and LENNY walk around the school, as if they own the place. This is only because the two of them know they're in the younger half of the school, and they aren't at risk of being belittled by any students their age.
RYAN is clearly the ringleader of the two, as he keeps jostling LENNY's arm to follow him along. They find a group of young boys, and RYAN decides it would be a good idea to walk straight through them, rather than moving out of the way to let them past. He barges one of the young boys to the floor, before running away as a teacher calls his name in disgust.
Outer presence
Outer presence is used to define what the audience sees of a character. It's usually portrayed across the character's dominant characteristics. Outer presence can cover a range of indications -
I think my character development demonstrates a good use of outer presence as it portrays Ryan to be quite the smug person through his actions and his body language. For example, when he barges through the group of young boys with no care in the world, until of course he is called over by one of the teachers.
It also portrays Lenny to be brought up well, although he is rather socially inept. This is shown by him being the smartest in a not so smart crowd, and he doesn't even realise it.
Context
The context is what an audience can assume from a certain scene. This may be through speech, facial expressions, or in my case, the ways in which surrounding characters react to the situation.
In my character development, we can assume that surrounding students aren't frightened by the two boys. They all seem to get on with their days, until Ryan ruins it. This would suggest that actually, the two bullies aren't as frightening as they think they are.
Inner presence
The inner presence of a character is the opposite to their outer presence. Where the outer presence emphasises their exterior characteristics, the inner presence focuses more on the thoughts and feelings associated with the character.
In my character development, we can see this when Ryan jostles Lenny's arm, which shows that Ryan looks down on him in some way, or that he feels it's the only way he can get him to do things with him.
Norm - A short film
Act 1 - Set-up
Although the film follows a conversation the whole way, a clear structure can be seen. To begin with, we are interested to the three characters. One is minding his own business, while the other two arrive home from a night out. This short film is about the ethics behind veganism, although it's portrayed in a different light. The characters are described as 'consensualists' and 'non-consensualists'. The guy who is minding his own business is a consensualist, but in terms of the message, he is the vegan.
Plot point
The first plot point comes when one of the non-consensualists begins to speak about having non-consensual sex, openly in front of the non-consensualist. Of course, given the message, he is talking about eating meat/dairy or engaging in other forms of animal exploitation. He is then told that the person is a consensualist, which sets the tone.
Act 2 - Confrontation
The confrontation then begins, which in this case, is a form of interrogation towards the consensualist. He is asked tons of questions, all of which he is able to answer but the conversation continues to grow deeper and deeper.
Act 3 - The resolution
The resolution occurs when the two debating finally reach a settlement. In this case, the consensualist convinces the non-consensualists that just because something is a 'norm', it doesn't mean it's ethically or morally right. He uses the case of history and the slave market as an example.
"ANDY" - Short Film
Act 1 - The setup
In this short film, we are introduced to the main character Andy through his usual school-day. He is referred to as 'Andrew' which he always tries to correct, but no-one listens. This portrays him to be quite the easy target for both students and teachers.
Plot Point
The first plot point comes when Andy and his best friend are invited to a party. This sets the tone for the action about to unfold in the coming scenes.
Act 2 - The confrontation
The confrontation takes place when Andy and Des, his best friend, are smoking in the bathroom of the house. The party host, Lia, comes to join them and when Des goes to get some water, Andy and Lia are left to their own devices. They start to have sex, before Lia's ex boyfriend comes in and finds them. He publicly humiliates Andy by dragging him out of the bathroom, and pictures are soon spread aorund online. Andy seeks revenge.
Act 3 - The resolution
This short film doesn't follow the standard set-up, and actually, there is no 'resolution'. The ending is left on a cliff-hanger, because the way Andy gets revenge is by spreading a rumor about Lia via social media. He leaked screen captures of her and her teacher texting, talking about having sex. The film ends with everybody around school shocked, but it's clear Andy was the person who made the Twitter account.
Audience Research
My target audience for 'The invite' is teenagers of around 15-18 years old. Luckily, this is the age range of people around me. I asked a few friends and family members to take a look at my script and see if they would be interested in watching the final film. They were honest, and although most of them said yes, a few said no as they found it un-achievable. This only motivates me to complete the film, as I feel like it could exceed expectations, and turn out to be really good for the target audience.
Film inspiration
I would like my location to be somewhat relatable to my target audience. Luckily, teenagers spend the most time in their bedrooms, which is where a large section of 'The Invite' will be. Of course, there will be other settings throughout the movie, but these will all be relatable too.
On first glance of my script, many would take away from it a school, a bedroom and the street as the main locations. However, when you delve into the film-making side of things, and scenes like flashbacks are considered, there may be other settings to consider.
This also ties in with my inspiration. My inspiration for the short film idea was a movie called 'Unfriended'. Unfriended is mainly based in the bedrooms of teenagers on a group video call, I will take this idea and develop it with a bit more narrative.
Another thing which influenced me was the era which we live in. It's a social media-driven era, yet the films we see made today don't reflect that well enough. On average, a person owns 5-6 social media accounts, which is a lot in comparison to one real life.
Ultimately though, the decision all came down to my personal preference. My favourite genre of film is horror, and I love when those films revolve around the internet. I always find them fascinating to watch. In the film industry, social media-driven films are easy to promote, as they always seem to catch on well.
